Curtis Blaydes has suffered some big setbacks during his UFC career along with some statement-making highs.
Even making his return to the Octagon in 2025 has been difficult, with Blaydes being forced to withdraw from UFC 313 before being rebooked for UFC Baku on June 21.
‘Razor’ has been on the wrong end of some big knockout losses with Derrick Lewis naming his win over Blaydes the most satisfying of his career.
While the 34-year-old hasn’t always been the most popular fighter on the roster, he’s still capable of delivering highlight reel moments.
Arguably, his most memorable victory came back at UFC 225 in 2018, where Blaydes left spectators wincing at what they were watching as he unleashed some of the most horrific ground and pound that the Octagon has ever seen.
Joe Rogan was left stunned when Curtis Blaydes destroyed Alistair Overeem with devastating elbows
At UFC 225 in June of 2018, Curtis Blaydes got the opportunity to face the biggest name of his career at that time in front of his home fans in Chicago, Illinois.
The featured prelim at the United Center saw the #4-ranked Blaydes take on the #2-ranked Alistair Overeem.
Overeem was already a veteran of 60 pro MMA fights at that time, not to mention his extensive success in kickboxing.
The Dutch legend was looking to bounce back from a devastating knockout loss at the hands of Francis Ngannou, who, at the time, was the only man to have beaten Blaydes inside the Octagon.
‘Razor’ looked to be on track to extend his winning streak to four as he mixed up his wrestling offense to nullify the striking specialty of Overeem.
On commentary, Joe Rogan highlighted the importance of Blaydes pushing for a finish in the third round once he found himself dominating from the top position against a tired Overeem.
With two minutes left on the clock, Blaydes answered Rogan’s call, landing several elbows that sounded like gunshots, opening up Overeem in an instant and leaving him bloodied within seconds before the referee could step in.
“Big, big stoppage victory for Curtis Blaydes,” Rogan stated in the immediate aftermath of the stoppage. “I mean that is crazy. He opened him up like a can of tuna… That’s what we were asking for.”
Dana White credited Curtis Blaydes ‘unbelievable’ performance but he didn’t receive a title shot
In his post-fight press conference after UFC 225, Dana White spoke very highly of Curtis Blaydes’ performance when ‘Razor’ had received criticism in the past.
“He looked unbelievable and obviously, beating Alistair Overeem is a big deal so yeah, very impressive and the way he beat Alistair Overeem is a big deal. So, stud. I didn’t realize how big that guy was until him and Alistair squared off the other day. Guy is a monster.”
Despite stopping the #2-ranked contender in style, Blaydes did not earn the next title shot.
Stipe Miocic would lose the heavyweight title to Daniel Cormier the following month while Blaydes’ win streak was halted after he was beaten by Francis Ngannou for the second time.
